Tall Tales, 2015

Winner: Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Exhibiting Opportunity, 2015

MEDIUM steel
DIMENSIONS 108 x 108 x 360cm, 72 x 72 x 240cm

I find the rainforest at Scenic World quite unique! The millions of tourists that pass through admire rusty metal objects sitting amongst hundred year old trees, with lyrebirds scratching around the forest floor and the sound of Indiana Jones theme tune wafting gently on the air. If only the trees could talk! What interesting stories they might tell.

Instead they stand silently but proudly, like nature’s totem poles. I’ve always been intrigued by old industrial steel objects, man-made for a purpose. If you’ve ever stood in the disused ship-building sheds on Cockatoo Island, Sydney, you’ll know what I mean when I say there is something quite majestic and sculptural in the rusty old machinery that now lies dormant and quiet. You know they’ve once been busy, noisy, man-handled, they’ve seen a lot and would have amazing stories to tell.

Tall Tales are designed to combine man-made with nature through the material and graphic shapes. They are based on my drawings of objects from the industrial age and the rusty steel is a nod to the mining era. These totemic structures stand respectfully amongst the trees and have their own story to tell.